Indecision Delays IPO Launch -- January 28, 2018

From The Wall Street Journal: the Aramco IPO s stalled by indecision over where to list. Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil producer continues to weigh risks of listing in New York, London, Hong Kong or locally.

Most likely it's due to all those "transparency" rules over at the NYSE.

******************************

The Road To New England

Updates

February 2, 2018: New Hampshire site evaluation committee votes unanimously to deny the "right-of-way."

Original Note

 
A reader sent me this note:

• executive summary, in a couple of weeks, a crucial decision will be made by small, New Hampshire board (Site Election Committee)  on whether or not to allow Northern Pass transmission line to be built through state
• the 1,000 Mw - to be sourced by Quebec Hydro - was chosen days ago by Massachusetts to be supplier to fulfill "renewable' mandates
• problem? not yet built nor even approved. And the approval is far from certain as ALL the juice will be sent on power lines despoiling NH mountainsides for Mass' consumption
• if the line is approved, court fights will immediately ensue
• if the line is approved, it will be a near miracle to be in service late 2020, a full year AFTER Pilgrim nuke is retired
• Bottom line is NE is entering 'interesting' times.

So, there are two problems here:

• decision yet to be made; tea leaves not particularly helpful; in New England many decisions on energy seem capricious
• at least a year, maybe more, for a huge energy gap

Map and story here, final vote delayed until March 30, 2018, so we'll see in a couple of months. 

Background, from UtilityDive:

• Massachusetts chose the Northern Pass transmission project to supply 9,450,000 MWh of renewable energy annually to the state's utilities to meet goals established in the Global Warming Solutions Act passed two years ago.
• Northern Pass, owned by Eversource Energy, is developing a 192-mile transmission line that would move power from Hydro-Quebec dams in Canada to a substation in Deerfield, N.H. Northern Pass will provide up to 9.4 TWh of hydropower annually, while also reducing  wholesale energy costs, project backers say.
• The transmission line will begin at the Canadian border in Pittsburg, N.H., and will extend 192 miles to the point where it connects to the New England electric grid. Sections of the line will also be buried along roadways to reduce the impact of views around the White Mountain National Forest. Contract negotiations are expected to be completed by March 27 and sent to regulators by April 25 for review, according to the state's timeline.

********************************

The Road To California

The California PUC suggests the natural gas crisis is so acute that utilities should place a moratorium on new natural gas hook-ups for commercial and industrial customers. Wow, this will encourage new commercial and industrial customers to relocate and/or expand in California. By the way, look at the trend in the cost of energy in southern California.